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Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Welcome to my stop on the
Virtual Book Tour, presented by Goddess Fish
Promotions, for Blind Chess by Cristelle Comby. Please leave
a comment or question for Cristelle to let her know you stopped by. You may enter her tour wide giveaway, where Cristelle
will be awarding all four books of the series, signed by the author
(International Giveaway) to a randomly drawn commenter, by filling out the
Rafflecopter form below. You may follow
all of the stops on her tour by clicking on the banner above, the more stops
you visit, the better your chances of winning. My review is running late but you can read my review of the first book in this series, Russian Dollshere.

Short
Interview with Cristelle Comby

Me :
What has your journey as an author been like since you started the Neve and
Egan series?

Cristelle : It has been a wonderful learning curve. Practice
makes perfect, as they say… and my writing style certainly has improved. But,
what’s changed the most is the way I approach the craft. The way I wrote the
first Neve & Egan book, Russian Dolls, had little structure to it. I
figured out who the characters were, wrote down the big plot lines and there I
went… just plodding along, one page after the other. Then, I spent six months
editing the book and got it published. Not really a bad method, but there was
too much blank page angst and editing to my liking.

Now, I spend weeks – months even – carefully planning my next
story, before I write a single word. It might sound counter-productive, to
waste so much time in the beginning, but it makes the writing a hell of a lot
simpler (and quicker). It solves the blank page drama once and for all, allows
you to correct most of your plot issues beforehand, and helps you to keep a constant
pace throughout the story.

I have articles about it on my website, if you want to have a look.
It may not be a technique that works for everyone, but it certainly does for
me.

Me :
What do you hope to accomplish as an author in 2016 – your third year as a
published author?

Cristelle : I can’t believe it is 2016 already; it feels as if
2015 just passed me by at 150mph.

Well next year, I’m going to take a little break from the Neve
& Egan series. It’s all I’ve been doing for the past four years and I’d
like to meet new characters.

I’ve started working on a new series, in a different genre. The
planning’s done and I’ve got about 4 chapters already written. Hopefully I’ll
be able to really sink my teeth into it during the Holidays season, and finish
the first draft sometime in spring or summer.

It would be wonderful if I could get it published next year as
well, but I’ve learned not to make plans anymore… because life has a bad habit
of getting in the way.

It is
supposed to be Neve and Egan. Two partners, a team. What happens when a member
of this team of Private Investigators is shot, prognosis unknown?

As Alexandra Neve lays
comatose and defenceless, Ashford Egan must take on their enemy alone, and find
the cagiest criminal Scotland Yard has seen in decades. Determined to succeed,
Egan will stop at nothing. He’ll hit on married women, plant bugs, hire hitmen.
And he’ll do it all blind, which makes things ten times as difficult.

Double-crossed by friends,
convinced there is corruption in those sworn to uphold the law, Egan is forced
to form unlikely alliances as he moves forward in a game that requires skills,
nerves of steel, and a willingness to play against all odds.

EXCERPT

The
journey to the Lantesks’ home gives me time to weigh my options. There are two
ways to play this: continue to pretend to be Mr. Bono, the nice accountant, and
flirt some information out of Mrs Lantesk; or use the weapon in my pocket and
approach the situation in a considerably less charming manner.

I
entertain the possibilities of option one while I walk up the main street, but
decide on option two as I turn into the Lantesks’ drive. I don’t have time to
be gentle anymore; I can’t afford it.

I
tighten my grip on the weapon, straighten my back and force a resolve I don’t
feel onto my face.

Car
doors are being slammed in the distance as the first commuters start their
daily routines. The hour is still early though, and the chances I’ve been seen
are slim. The wind keeps up its assault as I take the last steps towards the
house, gun in hand, safety catch on.

I
smile as I think of DI Langford. He’d have a fit if he could see me. So far, I
am only a thief on the run, but I am about to add a few more charges to my rap
sheet. ‘Eyes on the prize,’ I remind myself as I reach for the doorbell.

My
finger is inches away from it when I hear the gravel screech behind me. Someone
is walking up to me. No, I mentally correct myself instants later—several
individuals. I count at least two pairs of feet.

This
isn’t good. I turn around, extend my weapon, finger on the trigger, as I do my
best to guess where to aim.

The
weapon is kicked out of my hand in a matter of seconds. I can’t even understand
how. All I know is that my fingers hurt, my wrist feels like it is broken, and
the weapon has tumbled to the gravel at least a foot away on my right.

An
instant later, someone’s fist hits me in the shoulder. It sends me tumbling
backwards and I hit the Lantesks’ house wall violently. My cane flies out of my
hand and I feel some of the wall plaster come loose upon impact. It crumbles to
dust under my fingers as I try to get back up on my feet.

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Cristelle Comby was born and
raised in the French-speaking area of Switzerland, in Greater Geneva, where she
still resides.

Thanks to her insatiable
thirst for American and British action films and television dramas, her English
is fluent.

She attributes to her origins
her ever-peaceful nature and her undying love for chocolate. She has a passion
for art, which also includes an interest in drawing and acting.

About Me

Welcome to the Queen of All She Reads Blog. I review all genre of books. Whatever catches my fancy. I either purchase the books or receive the books through a book tour, NetGalley, or the publisher. I do not get paid to review any book.
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